Just when things were looking up for Indian films at the box office, breaks were applied once again due to a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases across the country. Jersey, featuring Shahid Kapoor and Mrunal Thakur in the lead was supposed to release on December 31, 2021, but the makers decided to postpone the film.
Considering the current situation and the uncertainty, more film releases might get delayed. While the Delhi government has already shut theatres, Maharashtra is functioning on 50 per cent capacity in cinema halls, and many states have announced fresh curbs including night curfew.
It is now learned that one of the most anticipated films, RRR, starring Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, and Alia Bhatt, which was scheduled to release on January 7, is going to be indefinitely pushed.
It was only a couple of days back when trade analyst Taran Adarsh had tweeted that the SS Rajamouli directorial was going to be released as per schedule. The latest buzz is that more restrictions will be imposed in Maharashtra and other states. Given the current situation, the makers have decided not to release the film.
News18.com reached out to producer and film business expert Girish Johar who said that the word in the industry is that the film is going to be pushed, “While there is no official word from the makers of the film, there has been a lot of talk among the trade circles that RRR has got postponed indefinitely as several states in the country are going for restrictions.”
Johar adds that this decision will be a huge setback because only two days ago the team ended talks with the distributors regarding rate cuts due to the AP issue and also released a song, #RiseOfRam from the film. “RRR is a major tent-pole film. It is one of the costliest films ever made in Indian cinema. The makers have done aggressive promotions and even requested a few films to push their release dates forward so that they could get a solo release. Unfortunately, the makers have no option but to postpone. I am assuming a formal announcement will be made soon.”
Another trade analyst who did not wish to be named said that the decision to postpone the film is almost final, “The overseas distributors along with the exhibitors for the Hindi version of the film have already been told about the delay. It is going to be a huge loss considering everything related to the release was ready.”
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